If he heard Delmare scolding, Ralph would grasp the first pretext that came to his mind to go to him, and would succeed in pacifying him or diverting his thoughts without ever allowing him to suspect that such was his purpose.

The success of the surge in pacifying Iraq has been so swift and decisive that it’s easy to forget how difficult it was to find the right general, choose the right strategy, and muster the political will to implement it.

Because the idea of pacifying the world piece by piece sounds so ridiculous and unattractive, American leaders have rarely described this grand strategy in so many words—perhaps not even to themselves.